Catherine Tate to make Palladium pantomime debut in 'Sleeping Beauty'

Catherine Tate is joined by Palladium panto regular Julian Clary as King Julian, as well as Paul Zerdin as The Great Zerdini, Nigel Havers as Keeper of the Privy, and Rob Madge as The Diva of Dreams.

The London Palladium pantomime will return with Sleeping Beauty to celebrate its 10th anniversary at the venue, with performances running from 6 December to 11 January, 2026. Catherine Tate (The Enfield Haunting) will make her Palladium panto debut as Carabosse the Wicked Fairy.

She is joined by Palladium panto regular Julian Clary as King Julian, as well as Paul Zerdin as The Great Zerdini, Nigel Havers as Keeper of the Privy, and Rob Madge as The Diva of Dreams.

This will be the 10th year that Julian Clary, Nigel Havers, and Paul Zerdin have starred in pantomimes at The London Palladium, while Rob Madge made his Palladium panto debut in 2022’s Jack and the Beanstalk. He has since returned in Peter Pan and Robin Hood.

Jon Culshaw joins the company as King Julian’s Private Detective, Emily Lane (Hello, Dolly!) stars as Princess Beauty, and Amonik Melaco returns as The Prince, having joined the company in Robin Hood last year.

Tate said: “After seeing last year’s Palladium panto, I just couldn’t resist being part of this fabulous tradition - especially for its very special 10th season! I’m super excited to be in Sleeping Beauty - it’s going to be so much fun, especially getting to play the baddie and share the stage with the wonderful Julian Clary. Roll on rehearsals - I can’t wait to get started!”

Michael Harrison, Producer and Director of the London Palladium pantomime, said: “Since we returned pantomime to The London Palladium, the response of our wonderful audiences has been thrilling. Now, as we begin preparations for our tenth production, I can’t wait to welcome Catherine Tate to the company of Sleeping Beauty, and also to thank everyone who has contributed to bringing pantomime so magnificently back to London’s home of variety.

"We plan to celebrate our 10th anniversary in true Palladium Panto style, and will be pulling out all the stops to mark this incredible milestone with the scale and spectacle that our audiences so enjoy. Every single seat, including all our standing room, sold out for last year’s Robin Hood… so don’t sleep on getting tickets!”

Harrison’s production has set design by Mark Walters, costume design by Hugh Durrant, Teresa Nalton, and Mike Coltman, choreography by Karen Bruce, visual special effects by The Twins FX, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Matt Peploe, and composition and orchestrations by Gary Hind.

Check back for Sleeping Beauty tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Catherine Tate. (Image courtesy of production)